The Agona West Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Sekyi Sam, has stated that the rise in bribery and corruption cases in the society is as a result of extreme partisanship in the country.

According to him, because of politics, people or individuals alleged to have engaged in corrupt practices were let off the hook since their political party supporters often defended and hailed them, which often thwarted efforts to prosecute them.

He noted that “in order for the country to be weaned off corruption, persons found to have engaged in corrupt deals should be allowed to face the full rigours of the law and not to be defended”.

Social auditing forum

Addressing a social auditing event which was organised by the NCCE, with support from the European Union (EU), the municipal director mentioned that such a move would enhance the fight against corruption and save the nation huge sums of money that could be channelled into other productive sectors of the economy.

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He mentioned that if individuals facing prosecution on corruption charges were severely punished, it would serve as a deterrent to others and make corruption unattractive to people in authority.

The participants in the meeting were drawn from the clergy, driver unions, assembly members, artisans, students’ associations, among others, and had the objective to empower the participants to demand accountability from people in leadership and to encourage them to take ownership of projects in their respective communities.

Responsible citizens

The municipal director said it was important that Ghanaians always acted in a responsible manner to propel the growth and development.

He called on Ghanaians to religiously pay their taxes since the government needed such funds to fund the many development projects across the country, noting that by so doing we could demand accountability from duty bearers.

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He further charged the citizenry to effectively monitor and take keen interest in government projects under construction in their communities to ensure that such projects were constructed to meet standard.

Water supply

The Swedru District Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Mr Gideon Asare Anoh, noted that work had begun towards restoring water supply to Agona Nkum, Odoben and Kuntanase which had been without supply for some years now.

He added that the GWCL had begun the process to introduce an electronic billing system to save the cost of printing bills to clients.

In a related development, the NCCE in the Gomoa Central District has also held a similar social auditing engagement for stakeholders at Gomoa Afransi, the district capital, to conscientise them to put their leaders on their toes by demanding accountability from them.

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At the function, Mrs Constance Akuamoah-Boateng, the District NCCE Director, told the gathering that it was their constitutional right to demand accountability from their leaders to ensure the needed development.

She cautioned Ghanaians against sitting on the fence since such a situation would derail the progress of the country, saying: “Ghanaians must remain as active citizens to drive the progress of the country.”

I wish to call on all Ghanaians to participate in the administration of the country, particularly at the local level to deepen local governance.

Mr Benjamin Kojo Otoo, the Gomoa Central District Chief Executive, implored Ghanaians to offer constructive criticisms and offer alternatives to assist the government in the administration of the country.